LONDON, Oct 30 - Consumer confidence in Britain remained steady in October for the second month in a row, a report showed on Thursday. Research company Martin Hamblin GfK said its consumer confidence barometer stood at -3 this month, the same as in the previous two months. Analysts had predicted the index would remain at -3 but gilt futures recouped some lost ground after the report was publishede as some traders who had expected a pick-up in confidence covered short positions. "Consumers are not sure about the next few months, as confidence levels remain static," said Derek Martin, managing director of Martin Hamblin GfK. The survey showed consumers are becoming more pessimistic about their own economic situation. The index measuring the development of personal finances over the last 12 months fell for the third month in a row to -5 in October from -1. "This probably reflects weaker average earnings growth we have seen over recent months, along with a rise to almost four percent in tax and price inflation," said Ciaran Barr, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank. And the index measuring the 12-month outlook fell three points to +8, its lowest level since March during the Iraq war. The increased pessimism perhaps reflects expectations of higher interest rates in the coming months as most analysts reckon the Bank of England will raise borrowing costs for the first time in nearly four years next week. But consumers were slightly more optimistic about the outlook for the economy, with the index measuring this rising two points to -13.
Consumers considered it a more favourable time for making major purchases than last month with the index rising three points to +18 in October. The survey was conducted between October 2 and 21 among a sample of 2,029 people aged 16 and over.//